The forest fires raging in northern Quebec once again caused numerous power outages in the metropolitan area, including at La Ronde.
“The forest fires in the James Bay region led to the triggering of network protection mechanisms. We currently have three high-voltage electricity transmission lines unavailable for this reason, but our facilities are not damaged,” Hydro-Québec said in a message posted on its website Thursday afternoon.
According to the state corporation, the vast majority of outages in the Laval, Montreal and Montérégie regions are due to this cause. “Our teams are working on restoring power, which will take place gradually over the next few hours,” says Hydro-Québec.
La Ronde, in Montreal, was particularly affected by this power outage. “All our visitors are safe and our teams are on the ground. We do not know when the situation will be restored,” the amusement park had said before the power returned around 3:15 p.m.
“Two rides had people [à bord], but they were taken out quickly. There are rides that have mechanisms that automatically descend when there is a breakdown,” said a spokeswoman for La Ronde.
Around 2:45 p.m., some 129,604 customers were plunged into darkness in Montreal, while there were 125,071 in the same situation in Montérégie and 68,449 in Laval.